August 21, 2009 - This is the first day of the Islamic month of Ramadan and "Barry" Obama has issued a warm greeting in several languages to Muslims around the world. He praises Islam as a peaceful and tolerant religion while Rifqa Bary, a 17-year-old, is fighting for her life to keep from being killed by her father under Islamic Shariah Law or sent to a mental asylum in Sri Lanka, her home nation.
Bary is an honor student and cheerleader, and she converted to Christianity four years ago. She was raised in a Muslim household in Ohio and fled her home to avoid being killed by her outraged father.
She fled for protection to Pastors Blake and Beverly Lorenz of the Global Revolution Church in Orlando, Florida. Bary had found the church on Facebook. The Florida Department of Children and Families has placed her in foster care.
Earlier this afternoon, a judge held a hearing to give Rifqa Bary and her attorney a chance to explain why her life is in danger from an honor killing by her father. Fortunately, the judge ruled that she'll stay in Florida for the time being. Another hearing on her case is scheduled for September 3.
A reporter for TV station WDBO blogged in the court room during the hearing.
According to Bary, she fled from home because she feared that she would become the victim of an honor killing. She has already been the victim of beatings by her father for her rejection of Muslim traditions such as wearing the hijab, a head covering.
Watch Bary's statement about her plight on YouTube. She is clearly terrified. In it, she said: "I'm a Christian, and my parents are Muslim. They are extremely devout," she said. "They threatened to kill me. ... You guys wouldn't understand. Islam is very different than you guys think. They have to kill me. My blood is now halal, which means that because I am now a Christian, I'm from a Muslim background, it's an honor. If they love God more than me, they have to do this. I'm fighting for my life. ..."
Asked what her father, Mohamed Bary, told her, she replied, "He said he would kill me. Or he'd have me sent back to Sri Lanka where they'd put me in the asylum."
When she ran away, she left a note for her parents: "I said, 'I refuse to deny Jesus. He is my Lord and Savior. I pray you find his forgiveness and mercy, and I love you both dearly.' I wrote that, but they never showed it to the police officers."
There are an estimated 5,000 honor killings worldwide and the numbers are growing in the U.S. Last year, Fox News ran a shocking documentary on the extent of honor killings in America. The father is typically the killer and the victims are usually girls. In February, 2009, a Muslim TV executive in New York beheaded his wife in an honor killing. In Islam, converting to another religion is punishable by death. Honor killings are routine in Islamic-controlled nations.
I am grateful that this Florida judge is protecting this young Christian girl from being slaughtered by her father. But, this isn't the end of it. Rifqua Bary needs our prayers for continued protection from a ruthless ideological/military/political/religious system that demands the killing of anyone who leaves Islam.
